


You Can't Save Everyone, My Friend

by Writer_Geekgirl



Series: Castiel and Dean: An AU Love Story [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prohibition Era, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 22:25:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16251020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Geekgirl/pseuds/Writer_Geekgirl
Summary: In the ongoing series in which the Winchesters visit alternate realities, Sam and Dean find themselves police officers during the prohibition era. Dean's attempts to save that world's Castiel leads to tragedy.This work is part of the Destiel Promptober in which there is a different AU theme for each day in October. The AU for the day is 1920s/ Prohibition.





	You Can't Save Everyone, My Friend

Dean laughed at Sam, "Spiffy uniform, Sam." Dean grinned at the wool coat, police hat, and trousers Sam had on.

Sam glared at him, "You have the same outfit on, Dean."

"But, Sammy, everything looks good on me," Dean smirked. "What did you find out?"

"So, get this, we're in 1925 in New York City. Our precinct is about to take down a speakeasy."

"Arresting people for selling or drinking alcohol? Man, they'd toss me under the prison and throw away the key. Any sign of Cas?"

Sam sighed. This was the eighth reality that he and Dean had been sent to so far. All the realities involved a version of Castiel that was different every time. Sam tried to figure out who and what was sending them, but he was clueless. It was damn irritating. "Not yet, Dean."

Dean snorted, "Our luck he's the owner of the club."

Sam and Dean got into the back seat of a police car heading towards the speakeasy. Sam asked under his breath, "How are we going to play this one?"

Dean whispered, "If he's in the club, we get him out."

"I'll figure out a way to cause a distraction, you grab him."

Dean nodded, "Just don't get dead."

The officers gathered outside of the police cars when they arrived at the club. They used a battering ram to take down the heavily barred door and stormed down the stairs into the basement. Dean scanned the crowd of patrons and workers quickly. He saw Castiel behind a piano, wearing a suit. He had pressed himself against the wall, obviously nervous.

Dean subtly pointed out Castiel to Sam and then worked his way through the crowd to him. Dean noticed a door leading to a backroom or hallway. He whispered in Castiel's ear, "Come with me."

Dean pulled him into the hallway and opened the door to a storeroom. It contained a window large enough for them to get out of if they climbed the shelves that lined the walls. Dean shoved Castiel in front of him.

Castiel turned around at Dean and snapped, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Saving your ass. Follow me." Dean scaled the shelf and popped open the window. It was a tight fit, but he slid through. He glared down at Castiel in impatience, "Well?"

Castiel sighed and climbed the shelf. When they were both standing in the alleyway behind the club, Castiel looked at Dean, "Why did the plan change? This doesn't make sense."

Dean looked confused, "What plan?"

A group of police officers rounded the corner into the alleyway at that moment. Dean said loudly to Castiel, "Well if you remember anything, come to the precinct and ask for Winchester. Now get out of here." He shoved Castiel.

Castiel stared at him in stunned silence for a moment before rushing down the alleyway. Dean joined the other police officers.

The police divided the people from the club into groups, separating out the owner, managers, and security thugs of the club into one, regular workers into another, and patrons in the third. The patrons and regular workers were given tickets and citations, while the rest were taken into the precinct. Dean and Sam were leaning back at their desk drinking coffee after finishing their stack of statements. Dean muttered to Sam, "This is why I kill monsters and am not in the FBI. Paperwork."

Dean sat up straight when Bobby Singer entered the room. He kept hearing about Chief Singer, so he had his suspicions that Bobby was around here somewhere. Bobby looked at them grumpily, "Either of you see Novak there?"

Sam asked nervously, "Castiel Novak?"

"Yeah, you idgit. What other Novak do you know? We were supposed to put him on a train after the bust, but no one can find him. If the poor bastard is on the street, he's probably a dead man."

Dean gasped, "What do you mean?"

"Well, they'll figure out he's the mole as soon as they get out of here. I expect that to be at tops an hour with the way those boys lawyered up."

"Do you have his address?" Dean asked desperately. "I'll go there and pick him up."

Bobby grunted at them as he wrote it down. "If he's smart, he's already in hiding. If not, take him to the safe house on 6th until we can put him on the train."

Dean ran out of the police station with Sam on his heels. They climbed into the first police cruiser they found. Dean looked at it confused for a moment before figuring out how to hotwire the ancient car. "How are we going to find him, Sam? There's no Google maps."

"But there's this," Sam pulled a paper map out of the glove box. He barked directions as Dean pushed the car as fast as it would go.

When they arrived at the address, Dean jumped out of the car while it was still running and ran to the doorstep of the apartment house. He broke open the door of Castiel's apartment without knocking and stopped abruptly. Castiel was lying on the floor, blood pooled under him. Dean kneeled, cradled him in his lap, and applied pressure to the large gunshot wound in his chest. Dean said, "Sam, figure out how to get help." Sam left to find a phone.

Castiel flickered his eyes open to look at Dean. He panted out, "Winchester, why did you change the plan?"

"Because I'm a dumbass. Sam's getting help. You'll be okay, buddy. You'll be okay. I've had worse."

A corner of Castiel's mouth quirked up, "No, I really don't think I will be." His eyes closed with one last gasp and his body relaxed.

Dean said, "Cas?" When he got no response, he yelled and shook him, "Cas."

Sam ran back into the room. "Bobby is sending people."

"He's gone, Sam. I did this. I did…" Dean sat there stunned, looking up at Sam with tears flowing down his cheek.

"Dean, we messed up. We messed up bad. I feel horrible, but it's not our Cas."

Dean snapped, "Don't you get it. They are all our Cas. He's the same underneath whether he's the friggin' unicorn or that stick-up-his-ass paladin. His heart is the same. Details are different, but he's still Cas. He's good and he has faith."

At that moment, they felt the dizzying haze hit them. Dean shouted, "No." He tried to make himself stay through sheer willpower, holding Castiel, concentrating on the feel of the floor underneath him and the stickiness of the blood. However, when the haze cleared, he and Sam were back in the bunker library. 

Dean stood up, grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet, and stormed out of the room to his bedroom. Sam flinched as the bedroom door slammed shut.

He didn't know how much later it was when he heard murmuring outside his door. A moment later he heard a soft knock. Castiel asked softly, "Can I come in, Dean?" When Dean didn't answer, Castiel pushed the door open. He walked over to the edge of the bed, dropped his trench coat and jacket on the floor and crawled into the bed next to Dean. He pulled him close. "I'm sorry, Dean."

"I screwed up, Cas. I always try to protect you and Sam, but if I had just left him alone he’d been fine."

Castiel rubbed his back reassuringly and said softly, "You can't save everyone, my friend. You do try, often to my consternation."

"He didn't need saving."

"Forgive yourself for making a mistake, Dean. If he's anything like me, he would have."

Dean snapped, "So, I get a life, and he doesn't. It's not right, and it's not fair."

"Dean, whatever cosmic force is yanking you and Sam from place to place is at fault. Not you. You work with the information you are given, and you have saved people. You're right -- it's not fair. Life seldom is."

"I want to figure out what is doing this and gank its sorry ass."

Castiel growled, "You'll have to stand in line behind me. No one messes with my family. " Castiel's eyes glowed for a moment, and Dean could feel energy crackling from him. When Castiel realized what he was doing, he breathed deeply for a moment before relaxing. "My apologies, Dean."

"What have you been doing since we were last together? Humor me, man."

"Hmmm, well, after you… we…"

"You can say kissed, Cas."

"After that, I helped Jack and your mother with a Wendigo the next day. I then heard rumors of a rogue demon before I could make it back to the bunker. So, I took care of that. After the demon, there was a witch that Claire wanted help with. Then,…"

"Just shut up, Cas, please, and hold me," Dean said hoarsely.

"As you wish, buttercup." Castiel touched his lips to Dean's forehead and pulled him close.

Dean murmured, "I get that reference."


End file.
